What You Need to Know About Zero Trust and DevSecOps

One constant about cybersecurity is that it always is frequently changing. Thus, as technology evolves, the best approaches for securing that technology must evolve, too.

This isn’t always a simple matter of adding capabilities and growing along a linear path. Sometimes, effective security requires a revolution. Many of the tools can remain, but the larger operation — and how those tools operate within it — must change significantly.

Organizations presently are experiencing the need for a sea change in security approaches, coinciding with several major developments. One of these changes is the proliferation of mobile tech, cloud-based services and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. As these technologies gain ground, the concept of the “perimeter” becomes an outdated concept. Security teams are tasked with rethinking core components of their prevention efforts, such as authentication, endpoint protection and patch management.

Another major force for change is the rise of continuous integration and continuous delivery in software development, which in turn shifts development teams toward an integrated DevOps model. This approach allows for much faster speed to deployment, helping businesses meet the needs of a quickly changing market. However, it also quickly leaves traditional security processes behind.

As such, two new strategies in cybersecurity are beginning to emerge as major disruptive forces:

Zero Trust

A concept in network design, Zero Trust was first defined in 2010 by Forrester analyst John Kindervag. The method proposes a change in network design, which centers on the construction of “micro-perimeters” around data assets. This allows organizations to adapt specific configurations to different assets, rather than attempting to secure all assets as a “flat network.”

Building a Zero Trust strategy begins with identifying sensitive data and defining dataflows. Organizations then build a secure network design around these dataflows, with automation and continuous monitoring playing key roles.

DevSecOps

To solve the security challenge of continuous integration and delivery, security has to be baked in to the DevOps model. As traditional security practices butt heads with the approach of DevOps teams, they risk undermining iterative development processes or being bypassed altogether. As such, teams are championing a change in mindset that makes security the responsibility of all players. Security professionals lead efforts to make tools and strategies available to the entire DevOps team. Security features are baked into iterative releases.

Your organization may be looking to update your cybersecurity strategies to fit evolving tech capabilities and development processes. Like many, you may find the solution you need by implementing Zero Trust network design and a DevSecOps mind set. And while the change will require some significant restructuring, having an expert partner in cybersecurity can help you get there within budget and without the headache.